Departments
Foundry Engineering / Pattern Shop | Foundry | Cleaning Room | Machining |
Metallurgical / Melting Department | Quality Control | Quality Assurance
Foundry
Molds are produced in Chemically Bonded sand in either our newly installed Automated Molding Line or our Floor Molding Line.
Floor Molding The floor molding line can produce molds up to 120”x120”, 52/52. We can produce approximately 12 to 24 molds per day depending on the size of the mold.
Automated Molding Line: In July 2001, HS began to build the foundation work for the new line and on May 16, 2002 performed the first test run on the new line. In July 2003, HS will be completely changed over to the new line.
The new molding line utilizes chemically bonded sand and will produce flaskless molds. The system includes sand preparation and mixing equipment, a “fast loop” molding and compaction system, and automated rollover / draw machine, water based coating and drying equipment, two automatic mold closing machines, a large pouring and cooling field, two mold shakeout stations, a 30 ton/hour mechanical sand reclamation system, a 3 ton/hour gas fired thermal reclamation system and pneumatic transport system to distribute both mechanically reclaimed and thermally reclaimed sand to various usage points. The system has the capability to produce molds up to a maximum size of 63” x 96.5” 36”/36” at a rate of 10 molds per hour. All operations are computer controlled using the latest “state of the art” process control technology.
Up to 4 complete patterns (cope and drag) can be loaded onto the system at one time. When required patterns go through a natural gas pattern-heating tunnel then on to the mold staging area.
Pattern is cleaned, parting compound applied, casting serial number updated, chills, vents and any other pre-mold filling operations are completed at this time. The operator moves the mixer around the pattern box filling the box with sand. During this process a compaction table vibrates, leveling and compacting the sand. The amount of sand going into the pattern box and the compaction table vibration time are controlled by the Recipe Management System.
Excess sand is removed from the top of the mold.
The pattern box makes its way to the Rollover Station. Once in the rollover, a conveyer belt closes down on the pattern box locking it in place. The rollover rolls the pattern box upside down and removes the pattern box from the mold half. The conveyer moves the mold half out of the rollover and the rollover returns the pattern box to right side up.
The mold half makes its way to the Predry Oven. The predry oven serves two purposes. One is to drive off solvents created from the binder and catalyst reaction. Second, and most important is to bring the mold face to a constant temperature in preparation for the mold wash application.
Both the cope and drag mold halves will enter this operation simultaneously. The molds are cleaned and the wash is applied using a flow coating process.
The molds move to a natural gas drying oven where they are dried for approximately 24 minutes at a maximum temperature of 150°F.
Up to three employees are responsible for coring up the molds and prepare them for the closing operation. The core line was designed with additional length since the majority of our castings are heavily cored.
Two automated mold closers. One is to handle the daily production and the second is used for proving out samples or difficult to close jobs. The mold enters the closer station and the closer centers the drag half on a pouring plate. The closer then picks up the cope half, turns it over as it approaches the drag and sets it down on the drag closing the mold.
The closed mold moves to a staging position where the mold is prepared for pouring before it enters the pouring and cooling lines.
At the end of the return line the transfer car will move the poured mold to the shakeout operation.
Core Room Harrison Steel produces Phenolic Urethane cores using 2 semi-automated core production lines. The first line produces cores from 30 lbs. to 75 lbs. and the second 75 lbs. and up. The cores are eventually taken to the core assembly area where they are finished and prepared for the molding process.
Pouring Harrison Steel uses 8 and 20 ton bottom pour ladles with nozzle sizes ranging from 2 to 3 inches. |
